Creating Intrinsic Motivation Through Centers and Play
My students need a play center storage unit containing hardwood blocks, puppets, transportation vehicles and more that will allow them to focus on social interaction and societal roles.
"It is a happy talent to know how to play." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
A typical day in my classroom centers around discovery and overcoming obstacles. The biggest goal I have for my students is for them to possess the desire to learn, and to read on grade level by the end of the year.
My school is nestled in the intersection of poverty, diversity, and gentrification.
My students all come from income families pushed into the edges of the city by forces of gentrification. The majority of my students are English Language Learners, and every student at my school qualifies for free/reduced lunch. The languages spoken in my classroom include: Arabic, Turkish, Russian, Spanish, and Maay Maay. Academically, my school is trying its best to turn itself around. My school is the lowest academically in the district, as neighboring schools all have populations that are more secure and less transient.
Yet despite these hardships, my students are hungry to learn and succeed. Because of budget cuts and building capacity, I teach over 30 five to six-year-old children in my classroom, a good number of them have already been diagnosed with learning disabilities.
My Project
The materials I've requested will allow me to create a play center in my classroom filled with puppets, blocks, and toys. I will have a special corner in the classroom set up specifically for structured play. For the last 30-45 minutes of each day, my students engage in "choice time", or what I call structure play. I create centers that students rotate around at regular intervals (city building, let's pretend to be a community member, traveling through the city, home time, cooking and eating, etc.) The importance of these centers is that they create opportunities to create their own desire to want to learn (intrinsic motivation). The social time that students engage with other students is a safe place for conflict to arise and for me to be able to teach them how to handle conflicts. Lastly, these centers reinforce content in the curriculum. I can weave the actions and stories that students organically create during play time into the reading block and writers workshop.
I believe all students, regardless of social economically background, have the amazing capacity to learn.
This project aims to provide my students the ability to maximize role playing, increase intrinsic motivation through play, and provide outlets for learning conflict resolution. The donations brought into this project will help level the playing field, providing vital and important learning tools to students who would otherwise be left without these play resources.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Bund and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
